Mobile banking will be the front runner among various trends and technologies in the emerging markets banking landscape.

Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice of India, expressed this view while delivering the Karnataka Bank Founders’ Day lecture here on Monday.

Stating that the country has around 675 million active mobile telephone connections, he said mobile banking will witness explosive growth and change the entire banking scenario.

Because of their reach, ease and capabilities, mobile devices have recorded penetration of more than 50 per cent in countries with per capita GDP as low as $500. A majority of >mobile subscribers around the globe are located in emerging markets, he said.

Tech-saavy users

Quoting a study on future of banking, Venkatachaliah said that the study identifies some key trends that will determine success. Some of them include a new brand of tech-savvy users of financial services and emergence of new skilled workforce. The ever increasing technological pressure will drive great changes in the nature and talent of workforce.

Dramatic changes are expected in banking industry in a digitally dominated world, he said.

“Innovations in products, processes, relationships and business models will be the primary path to sustainable growth,” he said.

Analysing various trends in the banking sector, he said the banking institutions, practices, ethics and economies will witness a great change in the years to come.

Bankers must evolve themselves into economic, technological and social philosophers to be able to foresee and foretell the future. New ways of thinking is needed for banks to survive, he added.

Ananthakrishna, Chairman of Karnataka Bank, and P. Jayarama Bhat, Managing Director of the bank, were present on the occasion.

vinayak.aj@thehindu.co.in

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